


The Fates

by Tigereye77



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Not really heavy on the Jon/Sansa but it's there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-24 08:36:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19169644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tigereye77/pseuds/Tigereye77
Summary: What happens after the end of the series?





	The Fates

**Author's Note:**

> Really, S8 was pretty nonsensical, so here's an attempt of trying to make sense of some of it and tying up loose ends, though not all.

Queen of Ashes or the Mad Queen were some of the more innocuous names they gave her. Daenerys who so loved having her meaningless and ultimately false titles listed upon introductions was given much less kinder names by the people of Westeros. Queen of Murderers. Slaughterer of Innocents. The Burner of Children. It was not unforeseen that the people, particularly the small folk, would not have kind memories of the woman who had burnt down a city and murdered thousands.

And her former allies did not escape the consequences. It was foolish of the Unsullied to think that there would be no consequences to the murderous rampage they took part of five years ago. They had been the first to fall. Afterall, the relatives of the ones they had just freshly slaughtered were the same people they expected and relied on to fill their boats with supplies for their long voyage. All it took was a smear of blood here, a trace of excrement there in the foodstuff and the heralded Unsullied warriors found themselves on their knees, dying by the dozen out in the middle of the sea until their boats became ghost ships, floating unmanned until they were taken by storms or rocks and sank to the bottom of the ocean.

The Dorothki did not fare much better. In some ways, the few that remained in Westeros, were easy to take care of as there was not much anyone needed to do. Unused to the climate and illnesses in this country, they quickly sickened and died and in a few moons after they had set sail, only a few were left and little cause for concern.

Out of Daenerys former allies, it was one who’s association with one of her allies that fell first. Many had questioned King Bran the Broken’s choices for his small council. What was the reasoning to appoint a former sellsword like Bronn as Master of Coin? It wasn’t Bran’s choice, but his Hand’s selection, fulfilling an obligation and hoping to secure one ally in a city that hated him. However, the prominence of Bronn’s role likely marked him early for reprisal. Many viewed the Lannisters, particularly Tyrion Lannister who helped bring the Queen of Ashes to their shore, with undisguised hatred. Friends of his weren’t viewed with kind eyes. But unlike Tyrion who knew he was hated and kept close to the Red Keep over concerns of his safety, Bronn thought he was not in jeopardy. He was wrong and the knife in his gut after visiting one of the makeshift brothels set up made the last Lannister even more paranoid of his own safety.

A representative of Dorne became the next Master of Coin. People had not forgotten Dorne was once an ally of Daenerys Targaryen as well, but the new prince had wisely distanced himself from that association, noting it was Ellaria Sand who had made the alliance, and became a stalwart supporter of the new monarch. The new Master of Coin proved to be a wise and judicious official and the Six Kingdoms benefited greatly from his appointment.

Yara Greyjoy, blindly and foolishly still loyal for whatever reason to Daenerys’ memory attempted to attack the North in reprisal for Jon Snow’s actions. They were easily repelled by the Northern ships, one in particular with a direwolf as its figurehead. That ship had rammed Yara’s own and her men were quickly overwhelmed. Yara herself was killed in that fight, by a small, quick figure. Her death created a momentary power vacuum in the Iron Islands, but a cousin eventually won out. This cousin was more savvy and less blinded and worked with both King Bran and Queen Sansa and soon found a way to make the Iron Islands prosperous without attacking and pillaging: they simply were some of the best sailors. As trade with other countries opened up the Ironborn found their services for shipping in great demand and as for potential pirates, they learned to steer clear of ships with Kraken sigil.

After two years on Bran’s council, Davos found himself back in the North. It was more for his safety and sanity than anything. While he managed to get the fleet back into shape, he found himself, while not hated as much as Tyrion, still tainted by his association with the Dragon Queen. He was among those who participated in the destruction of Kings Landing. His actions to try to help people was disregarded or scoffed at by most. Afterall, small actions of one pale in comparison to the enormous horror inflicted on the people. He found he could not traverse freely in the streets and always had to travel with armed guards. An attempt on his life, a knife attack that left him with a wound to his shoulder and weeks of recovery, convinced him he should resign his post and perhaps partake himself to more friendly territory. 

Bran accepted his resignation gracefully and sent Davos to be with Sansa who allowed him to assist her own Master of Ships. While the Northerners regarded him suspiciously, not forgetting how he had helped bring the Dragon Queen to their land and offering praise of her “kindness” in the beginning, they at least did not try to assassinate him. So Davos fell into comfortable existence, if a much less grand one.

And what of Tyrion Lannister? The former Hand of the Burner of Children? Many were appalled by King Bran’s choice of Hand, but as the young Stark said, he would be spending his time making up for all of the destruction caused not only by his assistance to Daenerys, but the reign of the Lannisters as well. Tyrion found himself working long and hard hours, trying to rebuild the city and meet the needs of the people. There was nothing else he could do. If he showed his face outside of the Red Keep he would undoubtedly meet the same fate as Bronn, if not worse. He dared not even bring any women in to entertain him, uncertain if they would try to kill him. He grew suspect of his wine, wondering if it was poisoned. When he complained about his fears to King Bran, the young monarch had simply replied, 

“Then you must do more to show that you are trying to set right all the wrong you had done in the past.”

“I wonder if you want to get me killed,” was Tyrion’s bitter reply.

“All of our fates have been set. We can only let them play out.”

“And is my fate to be murdered in my bed or at a council meeting?” Tyrion sneered.

“For now, your fate is to figure out the sewage system for Flea Bottom.”

On this went for five years as Tyrion grew increasingly paranoid, but the country began to recover. But did he get the credit for this? No, he grew even more bitter as the people began to hail King Bran for his clever ideas and helping and relieving the suffering of the people. And then, just before the fifth anniversary of the burning of Kings Landing that Tyrion made his last and most fatal mistake. As preparations were being made to recognize the tragedy, Tyrion, in a drunken stupor decided to visit some of the memorials that had been erected over the years to the ones killed. He was found the next morning, beside one such statute, the one of a mother trying to shelter her child. His face and body was twisted into awful contortions as some great pain had wracked through him before he drew his last breath. However, no maester could find a cause and thus no search was made for his killer. If there ever was one.

And what of Jon Snow who was exiled to the Wall? He was not welcomed in the South. While recognizing he had ended the reign of terror of the Dragon Queen, like Davos, he had participated in its destruction by nature of commanding some of her troops. It was also not lost of them that he had been her lover and loudly and frequently proclaimed her his queen. No, they did not want him in the South, but they did not much care about his fate either. As long as he never left the North nor held any position of power, they were happy to forget about Jon Snow.

And thus, King Bran was able to quietly pardon Jon five years after the destruction of King’s Landing. The memories had not faded and it would be generations before the horrors would become a distant memory, but as long as Jon stayed out of the Six Kingdoms, the South would not care. They would give him that peace in exchange for ending the Burner of Children.

So with this pardon in hand and the one Queen Sansa had given him months after his banishment, Jon Snow made his way out of from the far North towards Winterfell. When he arrived, he knelt before Queen Sansa, the Queen Who Never Bent, offering her his sword and allegiance which she accepted and he was made head of her Queensguard. The North too regarded him with some suspicion. They had not forgotten he was the King Who Bent the Knee and brought a murderous tyrant into their homeland, but they also, quietly and shamefacedly recalled that some of their own Northernmen, some of their kin, were among the murdering savages that dark day in Kings Landing, or were reminded of that, and quickly kept their comments to themselves.

That first year was not easy on Jon as he re-adapted to life in Winterfell, but the routine helped. It wasn’t until he was there almost a year that he was finally welcomed back as a Northern son. The Queen had been out visiting some of the farms who had adapted some new techniques to help with increased crops. As always, she was accompanied by her Queensguard when they were suddenly attacked by a band of brigands made up by outlaws and even three Dorothki. The Queensguard were outnumbered, and one attacker got close enough to the queen to pull her from her horse. Instead of dragging her onto his own horse, the queen had fallen to the ground and it appeared as if a horse had trampled her. As some who were there will tell the story later, this sent Jon Snow into a frenzy. He alone began to cut down attacker after attacker, trying to get to the queen who laid still on the ground. As the bodies of the brigands laid strewn and covered in blood, he had dropped to his knees beside the queen and uttered in a voice that was the epitome of anguish, 

“Sansa…”

She was unconscious and her party rode quickly back to Winterfell, Jon Snow cradling her in his arms. He haunted the hallway outside her door as the maester saw to her injuries, the blood of the men who attacked them drying on his hands and clothes. Soon the door opened and the maester came out to give Jon and members of her council assembled.

“Just a little bump on her head and sprained wrist,” the maester had said cheerfully. “She should rest today and tomorrow, maybe even the next day. She’ll definitely not be doing any writing for at least two weeks as she rests that wrist.” He gave them all a nod and waddled off.

Her council members had sighed in relief and left Jon standing in the hallway staring the Sansa’s chamber door. Later, her handmaiden would say that she came out to ask Ser Jon to go in and see the queen as she had asked for him. No one knew exactly what transpired between them but they noticed a shift in their relationship. A growing closeness and an even more protective fierceness within Jon. Soon There were whispers about the Queen and the captain of her Queensguard, but the Northerners had no issue. Had he not shown his loyalty to their queen? Issues any Northerners had with Jon began to fade.

So it was no surprise a year later when Bran received a raven inviting him to the wedding of Queen Sansa and Jon Snow. He would be her consort and take the name of “Stark.” He would hold no titles or position. He would simply be her husband, the father of her children and the man who would protect her with every ounce of his being.

Bran laid down the scroll with the invitation on it and looked up as Samwell Tarly regarded him closely.

“Did you know it would play out this way?” Sam asked curiously. “That things would right themselves in a few years?”

Bran gave him for what passed as a smile for him and repeated the words he had said to Tyrion a few years ago, “All of our fates have been set. We can only let them play out.”

 

The End.


End file.
